Fannie Mae Help Center Celebrates 1,000 Helped in First Year

March 25, 2011 (Shirley Allen)
Fannie Mae is celebrating the one year anniversary at its South Florida Help Center that has helped over 1,000 struggling families since its opening. Fannie Mae partners with the Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida (NHSSF) and was the first of six help centers that Fannie Mae opened in hard-hit cities across the country.

Since the help center opened in March 2010, Fannie Mae and NHSSF have reached out to over 5,000 South Floridians, meeting one-on-one with highly trained mortgage specialists to discuss their mortgage situations. Utilizing experienced housing advisors who speak English, Spanish, and Creole, customers are guided through the broad range of foreclosure prevention options available, working closely with mortgage servicers to ensure efficient response times.

“Our top priority is to ensure that struggling homeowners have access to the help they need. More than 60 percent of customers who have worked with our advisors at the South Florida Mortgage Help Center have been able to remain in their homes and avoid foreclosure,” said Jeff Hayward, Senior Vice President, National Servicing Organization, Fannie Mae. “The Mortgage Help Centers are an essential component of our goal to bring stability to the housing market and minimize the negative impact foreclosure has on families and communities.”

Of the 1,000 struggling families that Fannie Mae has helped, sixty-four percent received a retention solution that allowed them to remain in their homes. Solutions have included mortgage modifications, forbearances, and repayment plans, with a staff that has been able to process the mortgage and communicate an outcome on average, in 30 days.

Services available at the center include reviewing mortgage loans with families who are behind on their mortgage or may be at-risk of foreclosure, discussing loan modification and other alternatives to foreclosure, processing their documentation and making timely decisions on any pending loan workout efforts.

The center can also assist you if you’ve been a victim of fraud by fraudulent groups charging fees for modifications and foreclosure related services, and other mortgage related scams.

The services from the help center are free for families who have mortgages owned by Fannie Mae. Find out if your home is owned by Fannie Mae by going to www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup or call 1-800-7FANNIE. Services are provided by appointment only which can be scheduled by calling 1-877-208-3652

If your loan is not owned by Fannie Mae, contact NHSSF at 1-305-751-5511 for assistance and advice to avoid foreclosure.